What You’re Not Told About When Purchasing Online Products And Services & What To Consider Before Buying Anything

I recently signed up for a free online webinar.

I sign up these free webinars all the time so that I am continuously learning, growing, and improving my skill set.

If I’m not growing, I’m dying or as Albert Einstein puts it, “once you stop learning, you start dying“.

Another reason I attend these webinars is to listen to the sales pitch at the end of each one.

Stop Selling & Start Giving A Shit

Having worked in sales for 12 years, I can appreciate the art of selling.

What I don’t appreciate, is selling for the sake of selling.

Selling for the sake of just making money.

Selling to make a dollar, and not giving a shit if what’s being sold is actually making a difference.

I’m not suggesting that everyone who sells their products and services online doesn’t give a shit about the consumer or what they’re selling.

What I am suggesting is that the people buying these products and services are often just being sold.

Not educated, not informed, but sold.

That, I do have an issue with.

Ethical Selling

Let’s be clear… anyone who’s selling anything doesn’t have to care about the person buying what they’re selling.

Whether it’s a product on how to lose weight in your sleep, or travelling the world on pennies a day, or build a million dollar business in 90 days.

The seller is not required to educate and inform the buyers on the challenges they’ll face even with their newly purchased product, course, or service.

The seller is not required to make sure the buyer realizes that just because everything is nicely packaged and ready to go, it doesn’t guarantee success.

The seller is not required to talk about the people who bought their products in the past and haven’t been successful.

The focus is often on the select few who have succeeded and how you too can be one of those success stories, which you absolutely can (more on this later).

The seller is not required to let you know how and why you may fail.

Maybe, just maybe, the seller should disclose all of these things from the start.

Not to discourage, but to encourage.

Not to add fear, but to be clear.

Not to lose a deal, but to be real.

By all means sell, sell a ton… but let’s commit to selling ethically.

Here’s Why I’m Great & You Need This…. Blah, Blah, Blah

Webinars are designed to sell things, I can respect that.

What I’m suggesting is more truth, more realness to the product, service, course, and experience being pitched and sold.

Instead, the focus is often on….

How it worked for the person who’s doing the selling.

Their story of how they’ve figured it out so you don’t have to.

Pictures of them on planes, hammocks, and foreign lands living the dream and how you can too.

The select few who have seen success using the product or service being pitched.

The benefits you can expect.

All the bonuses you’ll receive if you ACT NOW and now wait until tomorrow to buy (my favorite).

A special 30 minute one on one call you’ll get with the seller if you’re one of the first 10 buyers.

This is the typical flow that a webinar intended to sell it’s people will follow.

Selling Is A Craft And When Perfected, It Works

If you’re curious about how and why it works, pick up a copy of Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, and you’ll know why.

Influence is powerful and great when it comes from love, compassion, and the desire to make a sincere difference in the lives of others.

It’s bullshit when it’s used to just make money.

By all means, let’s all make money…lots of it!

Just not at the expense of making a difference.

So How Do I Suggest We Move Forward?

Simple… by being truthful, honest, and forthcoming.

But what about the sales?

Fuck the sales.

Better question is, what about the people we’re serving?

That’s the real question.

How honest are we being with them?

Are we telling them what they need to know to be successful?

Are we being truthful, telling them how and what they can expect to feel along the way, the challenges and obstacles they’re sure to face?

Are we being forthcoming on what it’ll take to succeed?

There’s a reason why it’s said, “If it were easy, everyone would do it.“

Be Truthful, Be honest, Be Forthcoming

Before I commit to working with any one of my Wellness Coaching clients, I am bluntly honest about what it will take to get them from where they are to where they want to be.

I refuse to sugarcoat it for the sake of the sale – it’s the truth.

Losing weight is an uphill battle.

Possible? Of course.

Challenging? Absolutely.

I make sure that everyone I work with knows it’s going to take time, energy, commitment, and sacrifice to get there.

That there will be days they want to call it quits and give up.

That losing weight is hard.

For the many I’ve worked with who have successfully lost weight, there are many others who have not.

It would be silly for me to ignore and hide these facts and not share WHY they didn’t lose weight.

It is these “whys”, the challenges and obstacles that I believe must be shared so that everyone can see WHY it didn’t work and what must be done to make it work.

The Road To Success Is Often Paved With Failure

I don’t need to like this philosophy, I just need to understand it.

Because when the going gets tough, as it always does, regardless of what product or service you’ve purchased, you’ll know that if and when you fail, that it’s OK, keep going, it’s part of the process.

On the other hand, if these same products and services are sold with the expectation that it’ll be all sunshine and rainbows, we’ll crumble at the first sign of distress because we weren’t prepared for it and told it’s OK, keep going, it’s part of the process.

That is why I believe, if you are out to make a difference… being truthful, honest, and forthcoming is a must when selling products and services online.

Before You Buy Anything

The next time you’re considering the purchase of a product or service, whether it’s something I’m offering here at the The Wellness Bucket or some other product or service online, remember…

Regardless how great the product, plan, service, or course is…

1) Nothing works unless you do

2) Success takes time

And if you’re the one doing the selling, I ask that you be as truthful, honest, and as forthcoming as possible because there’s more to life than just making a dollar.

Let’s make a difference.

Thanks for being here.

You’re awesome!

Mike